How To Train Your Dog's
by Yoko Nebutani Sheriukie
Summary: Complete AU! Astrid and Hiccup meet again after Highschool, and the old flames of a young crush come back to life. But when Astrid misunderstands a conversation between Tuff and Snotlout she'll do everything she can to crush the boy she thought she loved. Can Hiccup show her the truth? Or will the international dog show be the end of their relationship? HiccupxAstrid
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Obedience School

"Come on Toothless stop fighting you have to learn to behave!" Hiccup grunted trying to drag his two year old German Shepard into the dog obedience school. Toothless wasn't the easiest dog sometimes, he had a nasty habit of chewing on the legs of his dining table. Toothless wasn't stupid, he knew what was going on and he hated going anywhere that wasn't the park or anywhere that he couldn't run free.

Eventually Hiccup got the dog inside, and Toothless upon seeing it wasn't the vet, started trying to bound around like a mad animal. "Toothless calm down!" Hiccup said getting frustrated. Hiccup loved this dog, when he'd been younger he'd had a lot of health problems. He hadn't been aloud outside much, and the kids in school had hated him.

Hiccups parents were pretty important, his mom was a world renowned Dog Whisperer and his dad was the owner and CEO of a big company called 'Hooligans Construction'. They did a lot of big projects and built a lot of Steele framed buildings. His parents had been busy when he was little so he spent a lot of time with his uncle Gober, who spent a lot of time teaching him how to use a blow torch.

About to years ago, his 11th grade year in highschool, He'd found a stray dog tied up with its leg badly hurt. He'd fallen in love with it instantly and brought it home. It took a while to get the dog back on his feet, but after a couple of months Hiccup soon discovered what a handful he was going to be. But hiccup loved having him around, he spoiled Toothless rotten. Let him sleep in bed with him, eat next to him at the table, play fetch in the house.

But his father insisted that the dog needed to be trained, and Hiccup wasn't one to argue with his father. So here he was, Toothless running around the training area like he owned it as Hiccup chased after him. "Toothless no! Sit! No Don't do that its bad!" He yelled as the dog bounced off the walls. They got through the first class relatively easily, Toothless was a pretty quick learner, once he and Hiccup both paid attention.

On the way home they stop into their favorite dog park and Hiccup let Toothless off his leash. He sniffed around but stayed close to Hiccup. Even though Toothless sometimes acted a little wild he was a loyal and faithful dog. He hardly ever went far from Hiccup, always there if his master needed him. Today was no different, he stuck close to Hiccup till they got to a secluded area in the park. "Okay boy want to pracitse some tricks?" Hiccup asked rubbing the dog under the chin.

Toothless gave a murmured groan and wagged his tail. Even though Toothless was in desperate need of obedience training, he knew a few really cool tricks. "Okay buddy, find the star." Hiccup said. Toothless laid down and buried his head in his paws. Hiccup ran around and hid a star shaped squeaky toy before coming back to the dog. "Alright pal go find it." Toothless ran around and after a bit found it tucked away in the bushes nearby.

They played for a while before Hiccup laid down in the grass, at first Toothless laid with him but then he got up and wandered around a little. Suddenly Toothless was barking and ran off and Hiccup swore as he launched himself from the ground to chase after the rowdy dog. It took a while but he eventually found Toothless snuffing around a serious looking Doberman Pincer. The Doberman didn't move just sat there and watched Toothless evenly.

"Is that your dog?" Asked a female voice from behind him. Hiccup whirled around knowing exactly who that voice belonged to. Astrid Hofferson stood there with her arms crossed looking as stunningly serious as ever. "Astrid?! Hi uh yeah that's Toothless." He said rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the ground nervously.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting You Again

Chapter Two: Meeting Again

Astrid and Hiccup had gone to the same school for as long as he remembered. They'd had most of the same classes and even went to eachothers birthday parties; but that was because of Hiccup's family not because Astrid liked him. No one had really cared for Hiccup when he'd been younger, and he still didn't have any friends now, except Toothless. Granted Hiccup had always liked Astrid, well like wasn't a strong enough word; Hiccup had always loved her.

Hiccup had been infatuated with Astrid since grade school. The way she took charge and handle things had always impressed him. "I said why isn't he on his leash?" Astrid said waving a hand in front of my face. "Guess you haven't changed much Hiccup, just as easily lost as you were when we were younger." She said and gave Hiccup one of her rare smiles.

Hiccup was in shock, Astrid knew his name and even remembered him from school. "Yeah I guess I haven't. I mean I have but I haven't, I've got a job and getting through college but I'm still me." I said in a surprised tone of voice. Astrid nodded and walked over to the bech near the dogs and sat down. The dogs were now rolling around playing with eachother so I went and sat next to her. "Life has changed for me too, I live near here without my family." She said looking off into the distance.

"Are you in school?" he asked pulling out a sketch book and working a sketch as ha watched the dogs. "Yeah for business, a little deal my parents want to make but I've got to get some…..footwork done first. You?" She asked softly. He didn't notice as she turned to watch him draw. He was intently focused on what he was doing, trying to capture the dogs playfulness. Astrid smiled as she watched him, she'd missed this part of seeing him.

Astrid would never tell Hiccup, she'd never tell anyone, but she'd always admired him in school. Things seemed to come so easy to him, he had always been the top student, the teacher's favorite. He had always been the winner at the science fair, Astrid had always felt she had to work five times harder just to compete with him academically. Granted she'd been the most rounded student so she'd been favored over him for everything.

She'd been captain on the volleyball team and the baseball team. She'd been valedictorian and prom queen, plus shed been voted most likely to succeed. When she'd been in school, while she felt Hiccup was miles ahead of her in school, she'd look behind her and he always seemed to be in her shadow. She'd gone to all his birthday parties, more because her family made her than anything, and had watched as the party was thrown around him; almost as though the party wasn't for him but that he was simply there.

She'd tried to be a friend to him, keep bullies off and not let others play nasty pranks on him; but it didn't seem it had helped. When they'd gotten to their Jr. year something really bad had happened, Astrid remembered it well.

_The footplayers had been drinking after winning a champion game, and everyone had met up near the gorge and were celebrating. Astrid was there as a DD for her friend Ruffnut and Heather. Heather was the head cheerleader and Ruffnut…well she was an important member of the sports team…..and a slut. She was sitting back against ad tree reading over some college information when Snotlout and Tuffnut came over and started trying to show off. _

_Snotlout was captain of the football team, the quarter back; and one of the dumbest people Astrid had ever had the misfortune of knowing. Tuffnut was Ruffnut's twin brother, and while he took the cake for stupidity, he wasn't the worst person in the world. Fishlegs was nearby flirting with Ruff who was leaning into him and nibbling his ear affectionately. _

_Astrid looked around the crowd and rolled her eyes, it was mostly idiots being idiots; there were a few of her other class mates just hanging out and acting as DD but they weren't many. And then there was Hiccup, he was drawing something some distance away from the crowd; he was sketching the tree and the moon. Astrid smiled and watched him, she was careful to make sure no one noticed who she was looking at; but not careful enough. _

_"Hey look its Hiccup the screwup!" Snotlout called dragging Hiccup over to the crowd of footplayers as everyone laughed. Astrid stood up to try and put a stop to this but she couldn't get through the crowd that was now circling Snotlout and Hiccup. Hiccup let out a yelp and Astrid knew that this wasn't going to end well for anyone. She tried to shove her way forward but people weren't letting her through. _

_Pretty soon she could see Hiccup, they tied him to a tall log and lifted it into the air. He looked terrified and was squirming, everyone was laughing and jeering. Then they started to shake and kick the log, at first it wasn't to bad and then Astrid felt the world tilt as it began to fall. Hiccup got himself untied before he hit the ground but it wasn't soon enough, his leg was crushed by the log falling on it. His scream seemed to wake everyone up out of the haze they'd been in and everyone began to scatter away, leaving Astrid and Hiccup alone. _

_"It's okay its okay I'm going to get some help." She said running forward feeling her heart pounding in her ears. She grabbed her phone and dialed 911 before calling Hiccup's parents, then she set to the task of moving the log. By the time ambulance got there Astrid had the log moved and was holding Hiccups head in her lap as he breathed shallowly. "Then if hit the button the spring uncoils and release the fin." Hiccup muttered as Astrid did her best to keep him coherent. _

_She stroked his hair back from his face and smiled encouragingly at him. "And how does that help?" She asked softly as he cringed in pain. "Changes the way the air moves, helps to better control the direction in which one flies." He muttered as his breathing became even more shallow. Hiccups parents showed up at about the same time as the ambulance and Valka instantly started to coo to Hiccup and got into the emergency vehicle before it began to move. _

_Stoick remained and looked at Astrid who had blood on her hands and was quiet pale. "Thank you Miss Hofferson, my boy would be dead if it weren't for you. Can you tell me who did this?" He asked in that commanding voice Astrid knew he meant business. She looked at the ground and Stoick put a hand on her shoulder "That's what I thought, I can't punish every kid in the school so I'll move on. Thank you again." He said and turned to leave. Astrid watched and then stepped forward "Will you contact me with news of how he is?" She asked quickly, she really did care about him. Stiock turned and gave her a sad smile, "I'll make sure you know when I know." And with that he turned and left. _

Astrid looked at Hiccup's left leg and frowned. "How is your leg feeling these days?" Ashe asked without thought as she looked at him. Hiccup looked at her surprised then a sad shadow passed over his face "Never been the same since that night." Hiccup said and lifted up the hem of his pant leg to reveal the prosthetic leg beneath. Astrid sucked in a breath as she looked at it. Every time she saw his injury she felt like it was that night again and she was reminded of how she hadn't been able to get to him.

Hiccup looked at her face and smiled as he covered his leg. "It's not your fault Astrid, I remember how you helped me, I even remember seeing you trying to get through the crowd. And then you stayed with me till the ambulance and my parents came." Astrid looked at him surprised, she didn't think he'd been in a state to remember much of anything. "You remember all that?" She asked surprised.

He stood up and nodded making a hand signal to Toothless who came right over to him and sat down. "Yeah I do, I gotta go I've got classes in the morning. Maybe we'll run into eachother again." He said as Astrid's dog came over and sat next to Toothless and nuzzled his neck. Hiccup laughed a little. "I think your dog like Toothless." He said looking at Astrid with a smile that made her heart shudder. "Yeah Stormfly does seem to like him." Astrid said stroking her dogs ears.

"Maybe we could meet here in the park again soon? I mean so the dogs can play more!" Hiccup said his ears turning a light shade of pink. Astrid smiled and nodded, she liked the idea of seeing Hiccup again; she liked the idea of getting to know him again. "What about tomorrow around this time?" Astrid asked hooking Stormfly's leash on her. Hiccup nodded excitedly as Toothless began to drag him off. "Yeah sounds good!" He called back to her. "No Toothless not that way!" Astrid smiled and laughed as she watched him go….tomorrow might prove to be interesting to say the least.


	3. Chapter 3: Can I? May I?

Chapter Three: Can I? May I?

Over the next couple days Astrid and Hiccup met in the park for an hour to let the dogs play. Hiccup generally started sketching and Astrid would ask simple questions, but both of them seemed to be avoiding talking about anything more than simple day to day things. But after a week Hiccup was getting curious and decided to engage in more exciting conversations.

"So?" Hiccup said as Astrid sat down after letting Stormfly off her leash. The dogs licked eachothers muzzles before chasing each other around with happy barks. Astrid smiled and sat down next to him "So? Is that really how your going to start a conversation Hiccup?" She asked playfully. Hiccup blushed and shrugged. Astrid was….a lot like he imagined she'd be; sweet and funny with a roughness that suited her.

"Hey it was to break the ice! Anyway we've been hanging out each evening but I don't even know what your going to school for, or where you work." He said with a smile which Astrid returned. "Oh so that's what you were doing? I thought you were just saying you liked to sew" She said teasingly which made Hiccup laugh. "I'm in college for criminal justice studies, Stormfly and I are going to be a K-9 Unit with the BAU." She said with a smile. "And I'm currently working at the police dog training academy as a handler." She said and flashed him a smile. "And you?" She asked leaning back against the bench and lifting her face t the sun

Hiccup couldn't help but notice the way her hair shone in the sunlight, or how her eyes were the color of the sky, or how peaceful she looked staring up into the heavens. She was as beautiful now as she had been un school. Well maybe she hadn't been the prettiest girl in school, she'd been a bit gangly and she had been known as a tomboy; but she had been beautiful to him.

"I'm in school for engering and design. I work for a company now that once I graduate they plan on giving me a position where I can invent products for production." He said grinning happily. "I'm also taking art classes, I always enjoyed them and it helps with drowing out the designs." He said stretching his arms above his head. Astrid watched a little mezmorized. Hiccup was wearing a muscle shirt today with some dark wash jeans. She'd never seen him in shorts before.

He'd gotten a lot stronger than when they were kids and she could help the little thrill that went through her at seeing the muscles of his arms ripple and shift as and stretched and twisted. She liked the look of them, and she was positive that he'd be just as muscled elsewhere; and that thought had her swallowing. "Hiccup do you work out?" She asked suddenly, and the second the words left her mouth she started blushing and looked away.

Hiccup laughed and she couldn't help but look over, he had a nice laugh; deep and resonating. "Well I had to. After…..well after my leg I had a lot of physical therapy and once that was over I never wanted to feel that helpless again. I've spent a couple years now building up some muscles, that way I can't be tied up again." He said and there was a smile on his face the whole time, one that lifted the corners of his eyes.

Astrid looked at him surprised at how easily he shrugged off the incident. She looked over at the dogs and sighed. "Wow, I mean I never thought I'd hear you say something like that and smile. I mean if it had been me I would have been…..I don't know just not here. You are so strong Hiccup." She said turning to look at him. Hiccup seemed surprised and then smiled and blushed.

"So would you….I mean we could….That is….." Hiccup started nervously and Astrid watched him with a happy smile. "Would you like to have dinner with me? I know a little café we can sit outside with the dogs." He said twiddling his thumbs nervously. Astrid felt her heart jump and her smile grow, they may have just been getting back to knowing one another; but she couldn't help the fact that when she looked at him all those old feelings surfaced.

"I'd love to Hiccup." She said as he looked up at her with the biggest smile she'd ever seen. They sat and talked for a while longer, laughing over old times and talking about their future; but when Toothless came over and whined Hiccup knew it was time for food. "You ready to grab something to eat?" Hiccup asked standing up and hooking Toothless's leash onto his collar. Stormfly padded over and sat next to him pushing her body tightly against his.

Hiccup laughed as he watched the dogs, Astrid having trouble hooking Stormfly because she kept moving her head to rub noses with Toothless. "Do you think dogs can fall in love?" Hiccup asked watching the two canies and then looked at Astrid and blushed. Astrid smiled and gave him a funny look, "I think they can, but I think they build on the feelings of those they're attached too." She said simply and then blushed even more than Hiccup as she realized what they said.

They walked side by side as they made their way to the café, Toothless and Stormfly walking right ahead of them sniffing the air excitedly. Once there they sat down and had a simple meal as the dogs laid in a pile at their feet. They laughed and had a nice time a couple times Astrid even caught Hiccup watching her here and there. It made a small amount of heat fill her stomach knowing he was watching her.

Astrid wasn't a stranger to dating, she'd been a fairly popular girl in school and that hadn't changed in college. She'd had several serious relationships, all of them had ended horribly and turned her off to dating all together. She hadn't dated anyone in a year, yet here she was across from this guy from her past; a guy she'd liked. With Hiccup this seemed easy, he was funny and lighthearted. He took her jabs and gave his own in stride, never skipping a beat or letting her words hurt him.

He laughed so easily, and there was a softness to his features and his manners that made her feel safe and secure. She watched him as he went inside to pay, someone almost ran into him and Hiccup ducked and helped to keep the guy on his feet. As he was paying a waitress walked over and started flirting with him. Astrid watched interested as Hiccup politely paid and walked away from the girl who was basically daring him to strip her.

Astrid didn't bother hiding her smile as Hiccup came back outside. "Can I walk you home?" Hiccup asked taking Toothless's leash from Astrid. Astrid smirked and turned sliding her arm through Hiccup's with a laugh. "I don't know do you have the ability to?" She asked teasingly. Hiccup looked surprised at the fact she was holding his arm but then laughed. "Rephrase. May I walk you home?" He asked pulling her arm tighter into his. Astrid smiled and nodded giving his arm a squeeze. "I'd like that." She said softly as they started to make the four block walk to her apartment.


	4. Chapter 4: I'm New At This

Chapter Four: I'm New At This

The walk to Astrid's apartment seemed to go by to fast. All the while they walked Astrid's arm had been looped through Hiccup's, and every now and then her head would rest against his shoulder. She liked this, it was nice walking with a guy that wasn't trying to push her for more. When they got to her apartment Astrid looked up at it a little disappointed. "Here we are." Astrid whispered looking at Hiccup but making no effort to move away.

Hiccup nodded, not bothering to pull his arm away. He looked at her nervously and she noticed he was bunching and un-bunching Toothless's leash. Astrid smiled sheepishly and bumped her shoulder against Hiccup's to make him look at her. "I had a really nice time tonight, even if it was a little spur of the moment." She said playfully giving him a coy smile. Hiccup smiled back nervously and opened his mouth to speak but then closed it.

Astrid couldn't help but feel her fondness grow for the man beside her. They'd spent the last week together talking and watching their dogs and she felt like, even though they hadn't talk about their future plans until today, she knew a lot about him; and she wanted to get to know him even more. "Aaaaastrid?" he asked nervously. She looked at him and smiled leaning her head against his shoulder. "Can I…mayI take you out again?" He asked and Astrid almost laughed at how nervous he sounded.

Astrid pulled away and looked at him with a sheepish smile. "Will this be a date then Hiccup?" She asked looking at him through her eye lashes. She watched his Adams apple bob as he swallow. "Yyyyyeah." He said nervously. "I'm new at this, I've never really had a…..before and I….I've always liked you…But if you don't want to then don't…" She cut him off by lightly kissing him. Hiccup seemed so surprised when she pulled away she couldn't help but laugh.

"Hiccup you look like you've never…." Astrid paused as she realized the truth. "Was that your first kiss?" She asked softly as a blush crept up her neck. Hiccup nodded slowly and lifted a hand to touch his mouth. "Except for that one you gave me on my 12th birthday after I pushed Snotlout in the pool because he said you couldn't play kick ball with the other boys. But that was on the cheek." He muttered as he looked off down the road, a hypnotic smile pulling at his mouth.

Astrid couldn't believe that this was his first kiss. "Hiccup how can that be? I mean you must have dated?" She asked in credulous. Hiccup shrugged. "Yeah I've dated before, but we never made it to that point. And when I finally felt like we were moving forward I'd find out they'd been cheating on me the whole time." He said lifting his shoulders in a dejected way. Toothless pushed his muzzle into Hiccup's hand and Astrid felt her heart warm at the sight of their bond.

She reached out and punched Hiccup's shoulder and surprised him. "That's for waiting so long to finally ask me out to dinner." She said and then grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a quick full mouth kiss. "That's a taste of what you've been missing, and what all those others should have given you." She whispered close to his mouth, she quickly gave him one more peck on the lips and then turned to walk up into her apartment.

"Hey Astrid?" Hiccup called and Astrid turned with a smile to hear what he had to say. "Tomorrow at 7 dinner and movie?" He asked his ears turning red but he didn't stutter. Astrid smiled and her face lit up "Perfect." She said and then went inside. Once Astrid was inside she leaned against the door with a smile, closing her eyes and smiling. She unclipped stormfly's leash and the dog went over to her bed faced the door and laid down with a depressed whine.

Astrid watched the dog surprised, she wasn't normally like that at all. Generally she'd patrol the house before settling into her bed to watch Astrid bustle around the house. Astrid bent down and rubbed the dogs ears. "What's wrong Stormfly? You miss your boyfriend?" She asked the dog teasingly. Stormfly whined and pushed her nose into Astrid's hand. Astrid chuckled a little and stood up and headed into her bedroom to change. "Well I'll call Hiccup and tell him to bring Toothless over here tomorrow while we go out." She said stripping down and showering.

When she came out she was drying her hair and picked up the phone to call Hiccup. It rang once before he picked up. "Astrid Hi hi Astrid." He said making her laugh as she threw herself onto the couch. "Hey." She said playfully. "Everything okay?" Hiccup asked and she could hear the nervousness in his voice. "Everything's fine I just wanted to see if you wanted to bring Toothless hear to keep Stormfly company." She said laying her head back and smiling as she listened to him breath.

"Well I would say yes, except Toothless isn't…well he isn't neutered." He said thoughtfully. I looked at stormfly and then sighed. "Yeah maybe not then, I don't think we want puppies right now." She said teasingly and smiled as she heard him laugh on the other end. "I don't know I've always wanted to be a dog trainer." He said through his laughs. Astrid laughed as well "Really? I thought you were going to be and inventor?" She said calming down. "I am! I'm going to be an inventing dog trainer! Like a three ring circus, minus a ring." He said and she could hear him playing around on the other end of the line.

They kept talking for several hours, Astrid finally saying she had to go when she started to doze off on the couch talking to him. She went to bed with a smile, she'd never had such a wonderful first date or second date….or any date for that matter. She was excited about the fact they seemed to be getting along so well. She knew every relationship has its setbacks, and they would have their fair share since they were so different; but she really felt like they could be something.

The next morning she woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring her in her ear, forcing her to acknowledge that it was day. She got up and changed into her uniform and jogged down stairs, Stormfly on her heels. They jogged to the police dog academy and Astrid got Stormfly into her kennel before starting her rounds with the other trainees.

Hiccup was awaked by a wet nose being shoved into face, and a warm tongue drenching him in saliva. "UH Toothless no!" he said sitting up and wiping the sticky goop off his face. Toothless barked and jumped off the bed and ran in circles as he waited for Hiccup to get up. Hiccup took his time getting his prostatic on, he wasn't really happy about being up. He dressed and then took Toothless out for a walk before heading to school.

By five clock both Hiccup and Astrid were in bad moods. The people Astrid worked for hadn't done what they needed to to over the weekend meaning she had extra work to do when she came in this morning; which meant she was now behind in the training of the four dogs she worked with. Hiccup's day had started out promising until he went into work that afternoon and they had told him that they no longer needed him; so basically he'd been fired.

Astrid came home and was about to start making dinner and getting cleaned up when she remember her date with Hiccup and smiled; happy to have something to look forward to. She jumped in the shower and started getting ready to go, she want to look just right for this date. Hiccup was laying on the couch looking through the want ads when the alarm on his phone went off reminding him that he had a date, he was instantly in a better mood and jumped up to get ready


	5. Chapter 5: Screwup Upchuck

Chapter Five: Screwup Upchuck

Astrid sat on her couch pulling at her skirt, it was a little shorter than she remembered. She was wearing a striped red shirt with a brown mini skirt with black legging underneath, which meant she didn't really have to worry about how short the skirt was…but still she was nervous. She untangled her hair from its normal braid and let it flow down her shoulders in a curly curtain down to her shoulders. She looked in the mirror and checked the minimal makeup she had applied. Then she sat down and waited.

Hiccup was wearing a long sleeved green button up with a brown hoodie and black slacks. He'd combed his hair back, which he thought looked stupid but….i rubbed his hands nervously on his pants and pressed the button for the innercon system for Astrid's apartment. "Yes?" he heard her ask on the other end. "One Hiccup Haddock for pick up of one Astrid Hofferson." He said playfully and heard her laugh on the other end. "Come on up!" She said as she laughed.

Hiccup climbed the stairs to the second floor where Astrid's apartment was. He stopped in front of the door and lifted a hand to knock and swallowed nervously. He knocked once and she was there looking like a goddess in front of him. "Astrid…Hi…Hi Astrid." He said in a slightly squeaky voice. Astrid smirked and looked him over. "Not bad Haddock, you clean up really nice." She said reaching forward and fixing the collar of his shirt, her fingers lightly touching the warm flesh of his neck; making him shiver.

She gave him a smile letting her hands land on his shoulder. "Hiccup this is no way to greet a date." She said pointedly. Hiccup felt his ears go red "I…Yeah but I'm a little nervous. I've never iniciated a kiss….what if I suck?" He asked nervously feeling her arms go around his neck. Astrid smiled and leaned closer. "No way to know unless you give it a try." She said giving him an innocent smile.

Hiccup swallowed and nodded leaning forward slowly, he swallowed once more before lightly placing his lips on hers. She thought it would feel awkward, after all he said he didn't know how to kiss, but Odin's beard he must know something. After first it was just a soft his but they he pushed his mouth a little tighter against hers, and she lifted his arms around her waist. They broke apart after a few minuets and Astrid smirked. "Now that's a good way to greet your date." She said with a pleased smile.

After that they left her apartment arm in arm. She was walking close to him, her head resting against his shoulder every now and then. Hiccup had made reservations at a nice diner and they ate and had a great time talking about whatever came to mind. When they left the restaurant it had started to rain. Hiccup pulled an umbrella from his jacket pocket and popped it open. He held his arm out to Astrid who crossed her arms.

"What?" He asked confused. She smirked and pulled his arm around her waist moving in close to his side. "The umbrella isn't big enough for two, we'll have to be really close." She whispered in his ear. He turned beet red and nodded tucking her close to his side. When they got to the theater Hiccup bought the tickets and came back to Astrid and noticed she was shivering. He pulled his hoodie off and draped it over her shoulders. She looked at him surprised and smiled pulling the jacket on.

They went into the theater and got seats, Astrid held the seats as Hiccup went for popcorn and a soda. She was sitting playing with the sleeves of his jacket and smiled as she titled her face and took a deep breath sighing. "Astrid!" called a voice she'd hope to never hear ever again. She looked up surprised to see Snotlout's leering face in front of her. She glared and looked over to the theater door waiting for Hiccup. "Come on Astrid, if you just ask I'll sit with you. No girl should see a movie alone." He said reaching forward and touching her leg.

She shoved him away and was about to say something when Hiccup reappeared. "I hope you like extra butter because….." He trailed off as he spotted Snotlout. "Well if it isn't Screwup! Get lost Screwup I'm trying to talk to the lady." Astrid's temper flaired again but Hiccup didn't seemed fazed. He sat down next to Astrid and looked at Snotlout evenly. "She's on a date Snotlout so get lost." Astrid looked at him pleasantly surprised and reached over and took his hand.

Snotlout looked like he might explode. "You?! She's on a date with Screwup Upchuck? No frigging way. Why would she date a jobless loser like you." Astrid was about to protest but Hiccup stood up suddenly. "How did you know that?" He asked getting in Snotlouts face. Snotlout sneered and moved away before responding. "You're not the only one with a big wig daddy. Next time look at the owners of the company you work for Screwup." With that he walked away and Hiccup stood looking after him.

Astrid reached up and pulled him into his seat. She stroked the hair on the back of his neck to try and get him to look at her. "Hiccup what did he mean jobless? I thought you worked for a big company as an inventor or something?" She said softly. Hiccup looked at Astrid forlornly and sighed. "I was let go today. He's right I am a jobless loser." He said looking at the ground depressed. Astrid punched his arm and glared at him. He looked at her surprised and rubbed his arm where she'd hit him. "Ouch Astrid what was that…" He stopped as she hit him again.

"The first one was for not telling me earlier! The second one is for calling yourself a loser. Your not a loser Hiccup, lots of people get let go; you'll find a better job." She said and then leaned over and kissed his cheek. "That's for standing up to Snotlout in the first place." She said and laid her head on his shoulder as the movie started. They had a nice time during the movie and when they came out it was still raining.

Hiccup pulled Astrid close and they slowly made they way back to her apartment. "So have you looked for anything?" Astrid asked as they walked. Hiccup nodded and sighed. "Yeah but I'm overqualified for them all so I won't be getting them." Astrid gave him a squeeze. It was a few minuets later when suddenly Astrid stopped and smacked her forehead. "Odins beard I'm dumb!" She said giving Hiccup a smile. Hiccup looked at her confused.

"Hiccup my job is hiring dog trainers! I've seen the stuff you've taught Toothless you'd be great! You can come with me tomorrow, three people were let go today so they are desperate and you'll love it!" She said excitedly. Hiccup looked at her excited then tossed the umbrella aside and lifted her into his arms and swung her around. "Astrid you're the best!" he yelled spinning her around as the rain fell on them. Astrid smiled and put her hands on his shoulder and laughed throwing her head back in the rain. When he lowered her she wrapped her arms around his neck.

They were outside her apartment so it didn't really matter that she was getting soaked. She looked up at him through her wet bangs and smiled. "I had a really great time Hiccup." She said softly. Hiccup smiled and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Yeah." He said and leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. They kissed softly for a while before Astrid pulled away. "Later killer." She said and bounced off to her apartment, leaving Hiccup smiling after her in the rain.


	6. Chapter 6: Easy There Killer

Chapter six: Easy There Killer

The next morning Hiccup was waiting outside Astrid's apartment with a cup of coffee and an excitedly nervous smile. Astrid rolled her eyes and took the coffee as Stormfly and Toothless yapped at each other happily. "Bribery doesn't work with me Haddock." Astrid said taking a long sip from the cup and sighing. Hiccup laughed and shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying!" He said innocently. She leaned over and gave his cheek a kiss before nodding for him to follow.

Astrid didn't like using her car unless she had to, which meant she used it once or twice a month when she did her big grocery shopping. Hiccup preferred riding his bike, or the motorcycle he'd recently purchased and was fixing up. But since he had Toothless neither of those were great options. As they walked Astrid reached over and pulled Hiccup's hand into her own.

"So how did you sleep last night?" Hiccup asked swinging their hands back and forth. Astrid smiled as she took another sip of her coffee, shifting a little closer to him. "Well I would have slept better if my dog hadn't been whining all night as she sniffed my coat." She said playfully. Hiccup blushed and laughed a little. "Yeah Toothless was the same, I think our dogs are in love." He said watching as Toothless gave Stormfly's ear a lick.

Astrid chuckled and nodded as she yawned and threw her empty coffee cup into a nearby trash can. "Well I don't want any puppies anytime soon so make sure your mongrel behaves." She said winking at Hiccup, but he knew she was being serious. The walk to the dog Police academy wasn't very long, nad pretty soon they were standing outside. Hiccup looked like he might throw up and Astrid couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on Hic." She said kissing his cheek and pulling him after her. Turns out Hiccup was really good in an interview and after half an hour with Astrid's boos he had the job. Astrid smiled as she caught sight of him through-out the day, walking some of the dogs, bathing them, cleaning up their…..well the poops. At lunch time she was able to catch up with him and see how he was liking everything.

"It's great! I mean sure I'm not a big fan and pooty duty but hey…" He said giving her a happy smile. She laughed and pushed his shoulder lightly, making him laugh as well. "I'm glad you're having a good time, after lunch we'll be working with a new dog. We have to see what his temperament is. He passed earlier this week but I'm not sure if he really should have. Want to help?" She asked teasingly as she let her fingers trail over the back of his hand.

Hiccup blushed but nodded. "I'd love to help!" He said discreetly taking her hand in his. This time she blushed and cleared her throat as she cleared away her tray from lunch. Astrid lead Hiccup through the basic steps they took when dealing with a new dog, once they were ready they brought the dog out into the open yard. "Okay Hiccup don't make any sudden moves." Astrid said nervously, things weren't going well.

After half an hour Astrid had confirmed her fears that this dog was unstable and when they went to start training it he snapped. He was facing Astrid and snarling menacingly, Astrid had dealt with these kinds of situations before, but that didn't change her fear. "Hey there big guy." Astrid looked away from the dog to see Hiccup moving into the dogs line of sight. The dog turned to Hiccup with a growl, but Hiccup didn't seem concerned at all.

Astrid watched amazed as Hiccup held his hand out to the dog. She held her breath as the dog took a tentative step forward and sniffed the hand and then relaxed. "There's a good boy." He said softly stroking the dog's ears. He reached down and lifted the dogs front paw and frowned and then looked at his teeth and his frown deepened. "Astrid would you say he started acting up after the attack training?" He said still looking at his teeth.

Astrid nodded and came closer to see what Hiccup was noticing, the dog had blood in hi gums. "I think something's up with his teeth and mouth. That might explain we he went aggressive when we tried pushing it. He was in pain." Hiccup said as he tied a leash on the dog who let his tongue hang out and whined unhappily. Once the dog was back in his pen Astrid leaned her elbow on Hiccup's shoulder and smiled at him impressed.

"Well I think I made a great choice in bring you here Mr." She said smiling. Hiccup chuckled and shrugged. "You'd have noticed it once you got him back to his pen." Hiccup said and she noticed the shaking in his hands. "You okay there Hiccup?" She asked watching him closely. "Yeah I was just nervous because I thought maybe…." He blushed and looked away and Astrid smiled and turned him back to look at her. "Easy there killer you're making me feel all warm inside." She said with a wink as she gave him a peck on the mouth.

At the end of the day the head of the school came and told Hiccup he had the second Dog training job, meaning he and Astrid were now in charge of all the dogs training. Which also meant they were going to working very close together, which they were both excited about; though Astrid would not admit it. After they clocked out and grabbed Stormfly and Toothless, who were both so happy to play together again their leashes kept getting tangled.

As they started to make the walk back to Astrid's she put her arm through Hiccups and leaned her head on his shoulder. "So what did you think of your first day?" She asked with a sigh, just happy to be near him. It's amazing how after only two weeks she felt completely okay with being this close. She was not sure if it was the fact that she'd known him when they were younger, or because she'd seen how Hiccup handle even awkward situations; like Snotlout.

"I thought it was great! I get to work with dogs all day, I can come home and work on my designs and I get to see you all day." He said giving her a warm smile. She blushed a little, only he could make her do that. Hiccup was just to sweet and she was used to guys treating her like she was something more than a fine ass and some hot tits. She snuggled closer to his side, she liked the warmth he gave off.

"Hiccup." She said softly and he looked at her with a nervous expression. "Would you like to eat dinner with me? I was planning on making pork chops." She said looking at him shyly. It wasn't that she was nervous about eating with him, they had already eaten several meals together, but he'd never been inside her apartment, nor she in his. Hiccup smiled and pulled her arm out of his and then slid their fingers together. "I'd love to." He said beaming at her. She smiled back and picked up her pace.

When they got to Astrid's apartment she lead the way up the stairs, Stormfly jogging up them like a pro. Hiccup came up slowly, it was awkward with his leg sometimes and these were steep stairs; Toothless staying beside him and watching him carefully. Astrid unlocked the door and they both walked in as the dogs bounced around each-other happily. They unhooked the dogs and Astrid pointed to the couch. "I'll be a sec, just going to pull the meat out to let it thaw out a bit more." She said with a smile walking into the kitchen.

Hiccup sat down on the couch and smiled as he watched Stormfly trail after Toothless who was sniffing every corner of the room. A few minuets later Astrid plopped down beside Hiccup and leaned her head back against the couch. "Ugh what a day, all I need is a hot meal and a long shower." She said with a laugh. Hiccup nodded and put his hands behind his head with a smile. "Yeah today was pretty long, but it was the best work day I've had in a long while." He said smiling up at the ceiling. Astrid smiled as she looked at him. "It was long but I'll agree it was also very good."

An hour and a half later they were sitting down eating, Astrid wasn't the best of coos so Hiccup helped her. "Sorry guess I should have warned you that I'm not exactly wonder woman in the kitchen." Astrid said as she chopped tomatoes for a salad. Hiccup chuckled and shrugged as he stirred some onions that were cooking and flipped the pork chops. "That's okay I'm pretty good in the kitchen, after my mom died two years ago I started cooking more. Made me think of her so I've gotten pretty good at it." Astrid looked over her shoulder at Hiccup, this was the first time she had heard him speak about his mothers death.

"You talk about that much." Astrid comment gently, she was un sure how touchy this subject might be for him. Hiccup sighed and looked thoughtfully as he pushed the onions around in the pan. "I guess I still can't believe she's gone. I mean I go to school and she's there normal like always, and I come home and she's gone. Dad says it was fast but….I don't know I never even saw her body." Hiccup said sounding skeptical.

Astrid was not sure what to do with this information, she knew there had been a lot of controversy over Valka Haddocks death. No one saw her, no one remembered seeing her leave, the whole thing was fishy; but no one ever question Stoick the Vast Haddock. Astrid finished the cutting and moved over and placed a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "It's okay Hiccup, no matter what I know she would be proud of you." She said and kissed his cheek.

Hiccup blushed and swallowed. "Yeah, but still. Would it be crazy if I said I didn't belibve she was dead?" He asked as he placed the pork chops and the onions on plates. Astrid took a deep breath before answering, this was thin ice. "I'm not sure how to respond to that. I mean I don't think its crazy but at the same time….I don't know there were a lot of unanswered questions surrounding your mom's death so I can't really say." She said taking the plates and the bowl with the salad to her little dining table.

Hiccup nodded as he washed his hands, taking his time to rinse and dry them. Astrid filled two cups with soda and set them on the table as well. Hiccup came over and pulled a chair out and held out a hand for Astrid to sit. "Well well a gentleman." She said pleased as she sat down. They ate dinner and swapt stories about other jobs they had, all the while laughing. Toothless and Stormfly lay on her bed in a doggy heap. Her nose under his, his paw over her head; and don't even bother trying to untangle the tails.

Once the dishes were done Hiccup stood up and clipped Toothless leash on. "We'd best be leaving, I've got work in the morning." Hiccup said with a wink. Astrid laughed and opened the door to let him out. "Will you walk with me again? Coffee's on me this time?" Astrid asked grabbing Hiccup by the collar of his jacket. She fiddled with it a little fixing it in the back as she waited for him to respond. Hiccup smiled and blushed. "Yyyeah ththat would bbbbe great." Astrid smirked and punched his arm.

Hiccup yelped and rubbed his arm. "That was for stuttering." She pulled him to her and kissed him. "That was for being cute while doing it." She said smiling. Hiccup smiled back and took a step before turning back to her. "I will meet you, but the coffee's on me. I'm old fashioned, a guy should always treat the girl. Unless the girl demands differently." He said and Astrid laughed and shook her head. "Fine by me if you want to treat me like a Lady, just remember when I put my foot down and say I'm paying you take it like a man." She said and gave him another peck on the lips before pushing out the door with a laugh.

Hiccup smiled and started walking listening as Astrid closed the door. The walk to his apartment seemed longer than normal, but he was feeling to good to really care about that at all. Once the door was closed Astrid leaned against it and laughed a little, Stormfly stood in front of her and let out a whine. "What? We don't have sleep over with boys Stormy, especially boys that aren't neutered so get use to saying goodbye." Stormfly whined again then went to her bed and laid down with a sigh. Astrid chuckled and set about getting ready for bed, she had work tomorrow too.


End file.
